With the convenience of modern grocery stores, it’s easy to forget that nearly all food purchases come from some type of farm. Be it fresh produce and meats to pre-packaged products, farming keeps this world fed. One of the biggest misconceptions that people have about the agriculture industry is that it is an out of date, laborious, technology devoid process. Though there is a tremendous amount of physical hard labor that goes into any field of agriculture, most of today’s big farms rely heavily on modern technology.

The 2017 US Census of Agriculture found that there are 2.04 million farms in the US. These farms average 441 acres, spanning more than 900 million acres across the country. Plenty of these farms are family owned operations that support local communities, but the majority are run by major corporations to meet the demands of a growing nation. For years now, these farmers have been using technology like GPS and stationary sensors to manage farms. In the last decade, drones have become one of the biggest advancements in agricultural technology.

Drones are being used by farmers to monitor hundreds of acres, an undertaking that would manually take weeks. These drones can observe water levels, pest infestations, soil conditions, growth rate, the health and whereabouts of livestock, and more. The drones can also be used to apply chemicals, irrigate crops, assist in harvesting, and even corral animals. Drones have become so valuable for farmers that they represent an estimated 80% of the total drone industry. In 2020, the global agricultural drone market was valued at $942.8billion. It is expected to increase to $4,739.6 by 2027, a growth rate of CAGR 25.4%.

With drones becoming so important to the agriculture industry, universities with strong agriculture programs have invested millions into drone research and development, such as Virginia Tech. Managing a research portfolio of more than $522million, VT is one of the top 50 research expenditure institutions in the US. On October 20, 2021, members from VT’s Agricultural Department put on a technology demonstration at George Washington’s historic Mount Vernon Estate. Hasan Seyyedhasani, Assistant Professor of Automation and Connected Technologies in VTs School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, demonstrated his vision of using drones to bring farming into the future.

As Hasan explains, his research “evolves around smart farm ecosystem which fuses physical and biological systems through advanced sensors, control systems, actuators, and communication technologies.” To do this, Hasan has combined the expertise of an aerial drone, like the DJI Phantom 4 Pro, with a ground drone, like the Clearpath Husky. The DJI drone can provide the Husky with a bird’s eye view to better plan up-close ground missions. The Husky then can get right up to the plants for monitoring.

Using aerial drones and farming robotics is common practice, however, they are mostly used independently of each other. On their own, drones and robotics are hugely beneficial in farm management. But if used together, it could be a game changer. “We fuse these two sensing systems together to collect comprehensive information,” Hasan said. “Hopefully in the next five years, we can have a real automated farm.” Agriculture today is nothing like what it was 100, or even 20 years ago. As the need to feed a nation increases, technology like drones will enable agriculture to continue to thrive.